The Secret Gets Out 3
by Autobot-Tiff
Summary: Zim finally decides to make it up to Dib after hurting him with his previous experiment, even if he has to do it forcibly. Tons of silly fluff ahead!


**Invader Zim belongs to Nickelodeon.**

**You've read the beginning, and exciting middle part, so now mentally prepare yourselves for the final ending!**

**The Secret Gets Out: Part Three**

_"Forget it, Zim! You're obviously lying! Look what you just did today! You really think I'm going to let you near me after you made me pass out?"_

The words kept echoing and bothering Zim in the back of his mind as he sat by himself deep in his underground lab.

Zim felt so bad that he accidentally made Dib pass out with his previous experiment. All he wanted was just to get a little sweet revenge, and make the little human suffer a little. But unfortunately, it didn't go as planned.

But now, Zim recognized his mistake and wanted to rectify it. All he needed now was for Dib for cooperate with him one last time so he could prove that he could be more careful and more gentle when it came to tickling him.

But every chance he got, Dib didn't want to be a part of it. It was obvious that he still didn't trust Zim, and he made that very clear with him when Zim came up to him earlier that day at skool.

Zim was starting to feel very flustered down in his lab. "Why are humans so complicated?" he asked out loud to himself. "You mess up one time by acccidentally hurting them and when you try to apologize, they refuse to accept your apology! And yet they're always saying at skool to never hold a grudge and befriend everyone! Such hypocrites!"

Staring at his large computer screen, Zim decided to do more research on what went wrong with his last experiment. Then he found an answer. One article that he found read: "while tickling may be fun and pleasurable to some individuals, it can also be harmful. If the victim is exposed to too much prolonged tickling without given a break to rest and recover, it can actually render the victim unconscious."

Zim suddenly frowned. "Well thank you for informing me about that just now!" He sank back down in his chair. "It's no use...the Dib won't let me get near him so I can rectify my failed experiment, let alone convince him to come back to my base." Zim suddenly perked up. "Unless..."

Earlier that day, Zim had been eavesdropping on a conversation between Dib and his sister, Gaz. Zim overheard that they'd be home alone that evening because their Dad was going to be speaking at a tech conference across town. So that gave Zim an open window to sneak into Dib's house so he could make it up to him.

And he was in luck because Dib literally left his bedroom window open when Zim got there. It was late evening so Zim didn't worry about any humans seeing him without his disguise.

Zim carefully and quietly climbed up the side of the house with his metal arms that sprouted from his pak. Gir, still in his green dog costume, clung to Zim's back and hummed happily.

"Quiet, Gir!" Zim shushed him. "You want to blow our cover?!"

"I can't wait to play with Mary again!" Gir whisper shouted.

"We're not here to play with him," Zim reminded his little robot SIR. "We are simply breaking into his house, and attempting to apologize to him even if we have to do it forcibly. No big deal."

As Zim quietly climbed inside the open bedroom window, he noticed Dib was in bed, fast asleep. Zim quickly checked the time. "Who goes to bed at nine on a Friday night?" he whispered in disbelief.

Zim thought it would now become difficult to apologize to Dib now that he was asleep, but he was not turning back. He came this far to turn back now. He turned to Gir. "Alright Gir," he whispered. "I need you to wake the human up."

Gir squealed happily, waving his little arms.

"Shush!" Zim hissed. "And be quiet about it, too! Just...don't startle him, okay?" Gir nodded.

The little robot climbed up on Dib's bed, who still didn't wake up from the slight movement. Once Gir was close enough, he violently shook Dib's shoulders, and shouted "wake up!" over and over.

Dib jolted with a loud startled shriek, his limbs flaring around as Gir kept shouting and shaking him. Zim just sighed and pinched in between his eyes, shaking his head.

"Gir, that's enough! Get off him now!"

"Yes, master!"

Dib couldn't see anything since it was dark in his room, so he quickly turned on his bedside lamp. Once he shoved his glasses on his face, his eyes widened when he saw the alien in his room. "Zim?! What was that for?! And what are you doing in my room?"

"Calm down, human," said Zim. "Gir and I simply broke into your bedroom to apologize for accidentally rendering you unconscious with my last experiment for revenge."

The young boy frowned. "You can't just sneak into my room, disrupt my sleep, and expect me to just forgive you that easily. Get out of my room!" He shoved a pillow in Zim's face.

Zim growled against the soft surface. He pushed the pillow away. "Fine! Go ahead and turn down my rare act of niceness." Zim acted like he was going to leave but then turned around again. "But just one more thing."

"Now what?" asked Dib.

Zim nudged Gir, who pulled out a small white box from inside his costume and handed it to Dib.

"What's this?" Dib asked, taking the box into his lap.

"An apology cake!" Gir beamed happily. He suprised Dib by hugging him around his stomach. "We're sorry for making you pass out, Mary. And Zimmy's sorry, too." Zim blushed a little and lowered his antennas when Gir called him by his nickname. "So we got you this cake. It's chocolate!"

Dib opened the white box a little. Inside, there was a small brown cake with white icing letters that formed an apology message. It read: Sorry We Made U Blak Out.

"See there?" Zim said, gesturing to the little cake in the box. "I have presented the human with a traditional apology offering. So now, we're as the Earth kids say, 'cool now?'"

Dib closed the box and frowned again. "You really think _this _is going to make up for torturing me until I passed out?"

"I knew it!" Zim exclaimed angrily, flinging the pillow in his hands at Dib's face. "Gir, you said that would work! Why do I even listen to you?"

Zim spent the next minute grumbling to himself and muttering words in Irken that sounded an awful lot like cuss words. Then after his moment of ranting, he took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Listen, Dib," he said, trying not to sound angry. "Obviously, I didn't know what I was doing with that last experiment—"

"Clearly," Dib interrupted.

"I get it," Zim said in an annoyed tone. "I was so wrapped up in my sweet moment of revenge that I forgot for a moment just how weak and fragile your inferior human body is." He gestured to the apology cake. "But at least I brought you this, right? It's an offering, and...an apology for making you pass out. I should have been more careful, but I know better now. Invaders learn from their mistakes."

When Dib didn't say anything, Zim added, "By the way, you're lucky I actually went out of my way to not only come here, but bring you this apology cake as well. You won't believe the struggle I went through to get this chocolatey baked thing."

Gir giggled, remembering exactly how they got that cake. "We broke into the bakery!"

"Shut it, Gir!" Zim hissed. "He doesn't need to know that!" He leaned close to glare at Dib's face, who held back a laugh. "You heard nothing!"

It suddenly grew quiet in the room again. Both Zim and Dib were starting to feel awkward since they kept glancing at each other, but wouldn't say anything.

"So," Zim said, breaking the awkward silence. "We're good now? You're not mad anymore about what happened? And you won't be mad when I attempt my next experiment?"

"Well I guess I can forgive you for not—wait hold up. You're _next experiment?!_" Dib shrieked, his eyes widening.

"Well duh," Zim answered like if Dib asked him a dumb question. "How else am I supposed to properly apologize to you, and show you that I can be more careful and gentle?"

Dib leaned close to Zim's face, and narrowed his eyes at him. "Do you wanna know what it feels like to have someone make you laugh so hard, not stop when you're begging them to, and then suddenly go unconscious to wake up and feel like you bruised a rib, and have all your internal organs feel like they've exploded inside you?"

Zim paused for a moment before slowly tapping a finger against the white cake box. "Well...I was kinda hoping that the cake would be enough to apologize...and you'd let me perform another experiment with you. But I'll go easy, I swear."

Dib quickly shook his head. "No way! I don't want to pass out again."

Zim rolled his eyes. "I literally just said I would be more careful. And besides, I never quite finished my research on this human method called tickling. And since you're here right now..."

Dib quickly caught on to what was said. "No way, Zim!" he said, setting his cake box down on his nightstand and scooting away from the Irken. "Don't even think about it! If you try anything, I'll...I'll...I'll just yell for my Dad! O-Or my sister!"

"False!" Zim exclaimed. "I overheard that your Dad is across town at some tech conference, so you and your sister are going to be home alone for the rest of the night."

"You were eavesdropping on our private conversation?" Dib asked, annoyed.

Zim scoffed a little. "I wouldn't call it a _private _conversation. I just so happened to hear you two with my superior Irken hearing. And plus, your little sister is too busy engulfed in her video games downstairs to even think about you tonight."

"It'll be okay, Mary," Gir quietly assured Dib when he noticed the nervous look on the boy's face. "Zimmy will be nice. I'll make sure. And if he gets mean, then I take care of it! Like this!"

When Zim wasn't looking, Gir grabbed a nearby magazine off the floor, rolled it up, and suddenly started smacking Zim's back and head. "Bad Zimmy! Bad, bad, Zimmy! Don't be mean! Don't be mean! Bad Zimmy!"

Despite Zim's shrieks for Gir to stop, he still kept whacking him with the rolled up magazine until Zim had enough and snatched it out of Gir's hands. "I said enough! I get it, Gir. I won't be mean!"

"See?" Gir said to Dib, who was muffling laughs at what just happened. "I'll protect you, Mary!"

"Was that really necessary, Gir?" Zim said with a wince. "I already said a million times that I wouldn't hurt the human! Now...let's just get this night over with so I don't have guilt eating me alive anymore."

"Wait, no!" Dib suddenly squeaked in fear, and hid underneath his blanket.

Zim rolled his eyes at the nervously shifting lump on the bed. "Listen, Dib. We can do this the easy way, or we can do this—"

"You're not going to attack me again, Zim!" Dib said from under his blanket. "I won't let you!"

Zim sighed. "You took the hard way then. So be it!" Zim quickly and swiftly yanked the blanket off the young boy.

As a last defense resort, Dib scooted as far back as he could against the corner of his bed and kicked at Zim's hands whenever the alien got close to him. "L-Leave me alone, Zim!" he said, trying not to sound nervou.

When Dib still wouldn't stop kicking at Zim, the Irken finally decided enough was enough so he suddenly snatched Dib's right ankle, tucking it under his arm.

"Let go of me, Zim!" Dib whined, kicking both his free and trapped leg.

"Would you calm down?" Zim said, trying not to sound angry or annoyed. "I spent the whole day yesterday researching better ways to not kill you while tickling you. And since you wouldn't stop kicking at me, I guess I have no choice but to start with your tiny human feet first!"

Dib shot Zim a glare. "Well good luck with that! 'Cause I'm not even ticklish anywhere, so ha! Joke's on you!"

Zim just rolled his eyes. He knew Dib was obviously lying, and he knew he was going to break the human in just a few seconds thanks to all the different methods of tickling human children that he researched the other day.

Since Dib wouldn't quit trying to kick Zim in the back with his free leg, Zim decided that he would sit on his other leg so Dib couldn't defend himself anymore.

Once he had Dib all secured, Zim started slowly dragging a single claw up and down the boy's sock covered foot. Zim right away saw the little trapped foot twitch with every stroke. He turned around and smirked when he saw Dib had his eyes shut tight with both hands covering his mouth. Zim could hear muffled sounds that sounded like laughter behind Dib's hands.

"I guess I was mistaken then," Zim said, still stroking his claw up and down. "I don't hear you laughing at all. I suppose you were right about not being ticklish. Is that right?"

From behind his tightly shut eyes, Dib nodded as he still kept his hands covering his mouth. He didn't want Zim to see him smiling or hear him laughing behind his hands.

"Maybe I'm getting no reaction because I'm not doing something right," he heard Zim say. Dib let out a muffled squeal and started squirming on his bed when he suddenly felt all three of Zim's claws slowly rake up and down his foot. That felt so much worse than the single claw that Zim was originally using!

Zim could see the little sock foot twitch and move around more. He could even feel Dib's other trapped leg underneath him shifting and twisting more violently.

Glancing behind himself again, Zim was able to see Dib squirm from side to side as little muffled squeaks and giggles started to slip out. He could even see a slight blush on the little human's cheeks as he tried to hold in his laughs.

"I guess I was mistaken again," Zim said, wiggling his fingers a little faster. He smirked when he heard another muffled squeal again, followed by more louder muffled giggles. "This little human _is _ticklish! Am I right?" Zim looked behind him to see Dib shake his head no again.

The little invader stopped his moving fingers for a moment. "Just as I thought...you're a stubborn one. But those two hands of yours won't make you be quiet for long!"

Dib opened his eyes a little when Zim stopped tickling his right foot, but he immediately shut them again when he felt Zim do the same thing with his other foot.

Zim tucked the other foot under his arm and did the same thing; he used one claw first before dragging all three claws up and down against the sock covered surface.

Despite hearing more muffled giggles, squeaks, and squeals, Zim still wasn't satisfied with the reaction. He wanted Dib to break, but he figured that wasn't going to happen if he did this all night. But luckily, Zim memorized other different techniques that guaranteed immediate reactions.

Dib sighed in relief once those tingling surges stopped to his foot. "C'mon Zim," he said, a little out of breath from holding in his laughter. "This...This whole experiment is stupid!"

"You dare question me, human?" Zim asked, tightening his grip on Dib's ankle again. "You think you can hold back your little secret, but you won't!"

"I told you, I'm not ticklish! So you might as well give up now, Zim!"

Zim shook his head with a non-sympathetic smile. "Oh you poor, doomed child. You are covered in lies, human Dib!"

Before Dib could protest again, he jolted with a loud squeak when he felt Zim's claws rake up and down his foot. Right away, he clamped his hands over his mouth to keep himself from laughing, but that wouldn't last for much longer.

"Still stubborn, aren't you?" Zim asked. Muffled giggles was his only answer. "I know you want to laugh, human. You want to just let it out _sooo _badly...but at the same time, you don't."

For some reason, the teasing tone Zim was using was making those tingling surges tickle so much more. He thought he could hold it in a little longer, hoping that Zim would quickly get bored and stop but he was so wrong.

At this point, Zim was done going soft and easy on the young human. He waited until Dib calmed his giggles before making his next move. Once he heard the boy's breathing return to normal, Zim unleashed a surprise attack: he attacked the little sock foot with rapidly moving claws, switching from light strokes to hard scratches.

And that finally broke the barrier. Dib couldn't hold back his laughter anymore so he just let it out. "...KKTHPLBBT! PFFFFFAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! STO-HO-HO-HOP ZIM! STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP!"

Zim grinned smugly. "Finally!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "The human has been broken! Did you really think you could hide it? Well not anymore!"

"S-STOP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT YOU SPA-HA-HA-HACE JE-HE-HE-HE-HERK!" Dib shrieked, kicking his legs wildly.

"Normally, I'd take that as a compliment," Zim said, now going for the other foot. "But this time, you sound like you're actually being rude. And this is where your many strange digits actually become useful!"

Dib wondered what did Zim mean by that, but he quickly figured it out when he felt a single claw stroke underneath his toes. The young boy jerked his foot with a loud, funny sounding squeak before squirming more violently in loud laughter. "AAAAHH! ZIM NO-HO-HO-HO-HO! STOP IT! STO-HO-HO-HOP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT!"

Zim grinned at the young human that was squirming like a worm on a hot sidewalk. He had to tighten his grip on Dib's ankle, and even had to bend his toes back with his other hand since Dib tried curling them to protect them.

"If I may ask," Zim said, now using the tips of all three claws to scratch under Dib's toes. "Why do you humans have so many digits on your hands and feet?" Funny sounding squeaks and laughs was his only answer. "I knew it! You can't even say anything with me tickling you!"

Zim kept switching randomly from Dib's right foot to his left foot, each time making Dib laugh harder and harder.

"W-WILL YOU STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP?!" Dib shrieked, trying to hit at Zim with his free hands.

Zim turned around. He could see the boy's cheeks were slightly red from all that laughing. "Oh fine, you little weakling. I'll give you a small breather. I don't want to make you pass out again."

While panting heavily, Dib lifted up his head a little and was surprised that Zim actually stopped when he asked him to.

Once he got his breath back, Dib squirmed uncontrollably on his bed. "Um...can you get off me now?"

"Hmm...let me think...no."

"What?!"

Zim grinned wickedly. "That was only part one of my evil experiment! I still have many areas that I researched to cover!"

The thought of Zim discovering and going after every tickle spot Dib had made him super nervous. He quickly hugged himself. "No, wait! I won't let you, Zim! I already told you, I'm not ticklish!"

Zim couldn't help but chuckle. "You are such a horrible, filthy liar! It humors me how you're attempting to hide the truth when it's right in plain sight." Dib just stuck his tongue out at him. Zim narrowed his eyes before tightening his grip on Dib's ankle again.

"So...you're saying that _this _doesn't tickle for you?" Zim teasingly said while slowly raking his claws up and down Dib's little sock foot. "Not even a little?" He grinned when he saw Dib's foot twitch rapidly while he heard him muffle a whine.

"N-No," Dib managed to say through his giggles that he was trying to muffle behind both hands. "No i-it doesn't!"

"Not even even I do...this?"

Dib bit his bottom lip, and barely managed to hold back a cute sounding squeal when Zim bent his toes back and gently scratched at the ticklish skin underneath. He still stubbornly shook his head while his cheeks grew redder behind his hand.

"You big, fat liar!" Zim exclaimed, releasing his ankle. "You lie, Dib-filth! I can still hear you laughing even when you try to hold it back behind your two hands!"

"Shut up, Zim!" Dib whined as he hid his blushing face behind his blanket.

"Awww don't hide, Mary," Gir said, patting the young boy through the blanket. "This will be fun, I promise!"

"How is this supposed to be _fun?_" Dib asked from under his blanket. "It maybe fun for you guys, but it's not for—Aaahh!" Dib shrieked and jolted his legs when he felt something squeeze his knees. "Stop it, Zim! I know that's you!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zim said innocently. When Dib was distracted accusing him again, Zim sneakily slipped his hand under the blanket until his fingers found Dib's knees again before giving them another squeeze.

Both Zim and Gir giggled when Dib emitted a silly, high-pitched shriek. Then Zim whispered to Gir, "Gir, hold him down for me."

Gir managed to keep Dib trapped and pinned under his blanket while Zim kept his feet pinned underneath him. This time, Zim decided to use both hands to squeeze both knees. And that made Dib kick like legs like crazy while squeaking and shrieking uncontrollably.

"AAAHH! HA-HA-HA-HA! AAAHH! QUIT IT! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! AAAHH! ZIM! HA-HA-HA-HA! STOP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT! AAAHH! HEE-HEE-HEE! I-I'M SERIOUS! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

Through all his squirming around, Dib actually managed to throw Gir off him and free his legs. Right away, he curled up in a little ball, and wrapped himself tightly into a cocoon using his blanket. "Just stop already, Zim! I hate this so much!"

"I told you, I'm not done with this experiment yet!" Zim said, trying to tug the blanket off Dib. He heard Dib whine and cling tighter to his blanket, refusing to let go. "Let go, Dib-stink!"

"No!"

"You better let go of that blanket if you know what's good for you!"

"Make me, you ugly space monster!"

Zim smirked down at the young human. He was so asking for it! Zim suddenly sprouted two metal arms from his Irken pak, and used them to grab Dib's ankles and turn him upside down.

Dib let out a little shriek as he was suddenly dangled upside down. He panicked even more when his blanket suddenly slipped from his body. "Let go of me!" the young boy exclaimed, squirming in midair. "Put me down, Zim! Or else I'll rip those weird antenna things off your head!"

Zim scoffed a little. "Are you seriously trying to _threaten _me? Because if you are, you are doing a terrible job at it. Now where was I? Oh yes, I remember now."

Dib squeaked when he was suddenly dropped onto the bed. Before he could even blink, he suddenly had his arms pinned over his head.

"Now...where should I start first?" Zim asked, turning to Gir. "Should I start from the top and then work my way down, or work my way up? What do you think, Gir?

Gir just giggled at the trapped boy and said, "Start from the top and then bottom!"

"Aww Gir!" Dib whined, tugging at his trapped wrists. "You're not helping! At all!"

"Watch your tone with my little SIR unit," Zim warned.

"You're not helping either, Zim!" Dib said, sticking his tongue out at the alien.

"Oh, so now your giving me _attitude?_" Zim said with mock offense. "Now you decide to give me attitude? That's it, filthy human. I'm done going easy with you! It is time I begin the _real _experiment!" While saying this, Zim sat on top of Dib's legs to keep him in place and nearly got kicked in the face serveral times.

"Remember Zimmy, don't be mean," Gir reminded him.

"I won't," Zim answered. "And stop calling me that in front of the human, Gir!"

Zim faced the trapped boy again. "Now if I remember correctly from my research the other day, there is one particular spot that seems to be very sensitive." While talking, Zim rested the tips of his claws under Dib's arms. Right away, he could hear Dib whimper a little while his breathing suddenly became rapid.

"Z-Zim," Dib said, trying to keep his voice steady and calm. "D-Don't...Please don't tickle me here. I-I can't stand it there!"

Zim tilted his head in confusion. "What? Who's tickling you here? No, this is all a human sensitivity and weakness experiment."

"What's the difference?!"

The Irken alien grinned. "I guess there's not much of a difference, huh? But what does it even matter? I have you trapped here as my human guinea pig for my horrible, evil experiment which begins...now!"

Before Dib could say anything more, he jolted with an adorable squeal when he felt Zim's claws gently wiggle under his arms. "Z-Zim...I-I'm serious!" he said, trying not to laugh. "Y-You better stop o-or I will literally drown y-you in m-my backyard pool!"

Zim clearly wasn't intimidated by the young human's threats. "It humors me how you try to threaten me when I clearly have the upper hand here, Dib-filth. But since you say you want to hurt me..."

Dib shrieked loudly when the claws started moving faster against his shirt covered underarms. He clutched both hands into tight fists while tugging at his trapped wrists. "AAAAAHHH! STOP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! C'MON ZI-HI-HI-HI-HIM! AHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! I-I HA-HA-HATE YOU, YOU STUPID SPA-HA-HA-HACE BUG!"

Gir gasped dramatically. "Zimmy, did you hear what he just called you?"

"Oh I heard it," Zim growled. "And stop calling me that, Gir!"

Zim pulled his claws away for a moment. "That's it, Dib! I was originally going to go easy on you, but now you're going down...hard!"

"Hard?" Dib nervously whimpered out. He whimpered a little louder when his arms were stretched a little more over his head so he couldn't pull them down anymore.

"That's right!" said Zim, cackling his evil laugh. "I have had it already! That was the last straw! Literally! Gir used the last straw back at base before we came here, but that's not the point." Zim suddenly slipped his hands under Dib's pajama shirt, making him whimper a little.

"W-Wait, Zim! Don't!" Dib squirmed nervously as he felt Zim's fingers rest against the smooth skin of his underarms.

"I warned you, Dib-stink!" Zim said with a playful, evil smirk. "Now you just crossed the border into Hurtville!" Then Zim began stroking the tips of his claws up and down against the sensitive skin.

Dib couldn't stop himself from squeaking and squealing uncontrollably. The claws against his skin felt so much worse than before! "AAAAHHH! STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP ZIM! STAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

"Why should I?" Zim asked over Dib's loud laughter. "I'm still not done with my experiment yet!" He suddenly switched to rapidly wiggling and scratching his claws against Dib's underarms.

Dib squealed and laughed even harder. "EEEEEEEHEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! ZIM NO-HO-HO-HO-HO! PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE! S-STOP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT! AAAAHHH! HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA! AW IT FEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEELS SO HORRIBLE!" The little trapped boy was frantically tugging at his trapped wrists, so desperate to pull them down but he couldn't.

"What's the matter, little human?" Zim asked teasingly. "Can't pull your own arms down? Well too bad!" He smirked when Dib couldn't even answer, just squeal and laugh uncontrollably.

"STOP IT ZI-HI-HI-HI-HIM! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! T-THIS IS HORRIBLE! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! A-AND STUPID!"

"You hear that, Gir?" Zim asked his little SIR robot while gesturing to the wildly squirming boy. "The human guinea pig is talking back to me! We'll deal with that later. But first, I must continue my experiment to find the human's most weak, vulnerable spot!"

"Wait, no!" Dib squeaked in fear when Zim stopped tickling under his arms for a moment. "Y-You don't have to do that, Zim!"

"And why not?"

"Um...b-because...uhh..." Dib frantically tried to come up with an excuse. "Because you already found my weak spot! I-It's right here! Under my arms, okay? Now can you please let me go now?"

Zim narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the young boy. "You're lying, aren't you? I smell something suspicious here!"

"I'm not lying!" said Dib, avoiding Zim's gaze. He was trying to save himself before Zim ended up finding his actual worst spot. "I swear! Now let me go!"

"What do you think, Gir?" Zim asked his little robot friend. "Should we believe him?"

Gir pulled the hood down from his dog costume. "He's just pretending so you don't tickle him and make him laugh all silly!"

Zim turned his gaze back to Dib. "That's what I thought, too." Zim nearly got knocked over as Dib began twisting and kicking his trapped legs violently in an attempt to free himself. "Will you stop trying to escape?!"

"Will you stop your stupid experiment?"

"Don't you dare try to sass me, filthy Earth beast," Zim growled. "Or else I'll—" He suddenly paused mid-sentence when his fingers touched something hard and stiff on Dib's body.

"What are these?" Zim asked as he poked his fingers against the boy's ribs.

Dib squeaked, twitched, and giggled madly at each poke. "Eeek! Hee-hee-hee-hee!! Z-Zim! Eeek! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!! S-Stop touching me—Eeek! Hee-hee-hee-hee! Eeek! Would you cut that out?!"

"What are these many bone-like structures on either side of your chest?" Zim asked again, massaging his fingers against Dib's ribs. "They feel weird."

Dib jolted and giggled even louder. "AAAHH! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! ZIM NO-HO-HO-HO! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! S-STOP DOI-HI-HI-HI-HING THA-HA-HA-HAT!"

"Then what are these many bone things in your chest? Tell me now!"

"I-I CA-HA-HA-HAN'T IF YOU DON'T STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP!"

Zim pulled his fingers away, and waited for Dib to catch his breath. "Now what were those weird, bone thingies?"

"T-Those...Those are my ribs," Dib said, panting a little. He squeaked and giggled again when he felt Zim poke at them again."

"And for what purpose do these serve? And why do have so many of these...rib things?"

"Aaahh! Hee-hee-hee-hee! T-They protect my organs, oka-ha-ha-ha-hay?!"

Zim paused for a moment. "Hmm...very interesting. I never knew certain bones could be sensitive. Gir, write that down for me please. We need to take notes on these different reactions to certain spots.

Gir nodded and pulled a small notepad and pen from his storage space in his head. He quickly scribbled something down.

"Now," Zim changed the subject. "Do these bones happen to be sensitive?"

Dib squinted suspiciously at the alien. "Why?"

"Oh, just wondering. Are they, though?"

"Well...yeah, but—"

"So that means you'd be ticklish here, right?" Zim interrupted.

"What? No. No, of course not," Dib answered quickly. He twitched and giggled again as Zim stroked a finger up and down his left side of ribs.

"So you're not ticklish here?"

"N-No I'm no-ho-ho-hot!"

"Then why are you laughing like that?"

"W-Well why are you touching me-hee-hee-hee like tha-ha-ha-ha-hat!" Dib giggled out, trying to twist away from Zim's fingers. "Y-You're gonna get your we-hee-hee-hee-heird, nasty alien germs a-ha-ha-ha-hon me!"

Zim suddenly felt offended. "You're calling _me _the germ infested being here?!" he said, rapidly scratching at the sensitive ribs.

Dib shrieked like a little girl, and began laughing loudly. "AAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! STOP IT! NO-HO-HO-HO-HO! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!" He began tugging at his wrists frantically again while kicking his legs wildy, and ended up making a mess of bed sheets on his bed. "STOP ZIM! STA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! I-I'M SORRY-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

"Oh, so _now _you want to apologize after you just insulted me?" Zim smirked when he saw the young boy frantically nod his head. "Fine. But only because your face is turning an unnatural color."

Zim wasn't sure why Dib's face suddenly started to turn a light red while he was making him laugh. But he assumed that was a human thing that meant he was at his limit and needed a break. Zim wanted to make sure he didn't hurt the young child again.

It took several minutes for Dib to calm down and get his color back. He tugged on his restrained wrists again. "Um...C-Can you let my hands go? My eyes are getting a little watery," Dib said as he tried to wipe his slightly watery eyes on his shoulder.

"Oh sure,"said Zim with a scoff.

"No, I'm serious," Dib said, squirming uncomfortably. "Please, Zim. I won't try to run away or anything, I swear."

Zim sighed. "Fine." He loosened his grip on Dib's wrists, and let him wipe a couple tears of laughter from his eyes. "Are you done yet?" Zim asked, starting to get a little impatient.

Dib nodded. "Yeah I am, but—" He didn't have time to finish his sentence because Zim suddenly pinned him down against the bed again with his arms over his head. "Aaahh! Hey!"

"I've always wondered," Zim said while sitting on his waist. "Just how many of these...rib bones do you humans have?"

Dib's eyes widened, and he started squirming nervously. He knew exactly where this was going. "There's twelve!" he blurted out. "Twelve ribs on each side! Now please just leave me alone

Zim couldn't help but laugh at how nervous the little boy was when he wasn't even doing anything yet. "How do you know? You're probably just guessing a random number!"

"I'm not!"

"Silence!" Zim exclaimed. "I shall have to figure this out myself."

"Wait, no!"

Zim slipped his hands under Dib's shirt again so he could gently press two fingers and wiggle them a little on each side of the human's lowest ribs. He grinned with satisfaction when he heard Dib let out that silly high-pitched shriek, and get lost in a fit of squeaky, loud giggles.

"AAAAHHH! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! STA-HA-HA-HA-HAP ZIM! STOP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT!" Dib was frantically squirming from side to side, but things got worse when Zim slowly moved upward to the next pair of ribs. The higher Zim got, the more louder and squeakier Dib laughed.

And to make matters even worse, Zim would stop a few times right before he reached the highest set of ribs and say that Dib's laughing and squirming messed up his count, so he has to start all over again. Then he would go back to the lowest ribs again, where he would gently press and wiggle his fingers there before slowly moving upward.

The poor little boy was reduced to a laughing, violently squirming mess in under five minutes. Dib just wanted this to be over already. "AAAAAHHH! AHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Z-ZIM PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE! HA-HA-HA-HA! JUST STO-HO-HO-HOP ALREADY! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! C'MON STO-HO-HO-HOP!"

Zim spent the last few long seconds using all his clawed fingers to gently scratch and stroke up and down both sides of the little human's ribs. He only stopped when Dib's face was suddenly turning red, and when he heard him squeak out that he couldn't breathe.

"C'mon, Zim...Would you...will you please...let me go now?" Dib asked, out of breath.

"Only if there is a serious medical issue," Zim pointed out. "Other than that..." He quickly did a physical scan on the boy's body. "Your vitals, heartbeat, and breathing are fine and functioning normally."

"You scanned me?" Dib asked in disbelief.

Zim nodded. "Well I don't want to accidentally make you pass out again, would I? This time, I'm monitoring your breathing and heart rate to make sure you're not in danger of going unconscious."

"Well does your scanner thingy say that I have to go to the bathroom?"

Zim opened his mouth to answer, but then paused. "Huh...No. No, it doesn't."

"Well I do."

The truth was, Dib didn't actually have to use the bathroom. He just said that so he could have a reason to leave the room, and hide away from Zim for the rest of the night until, hopefully, Zim would get bored and leave.

To his surprise, it actually worked. "Ugh, fine," Zim said, letting go of Dib's wrists. "You have exactly five minutes to do your nasty business."

Dib quickly pulled his shirt down, and hopped off his bed. Since the bathroom was right across from his bedroom, Dib quickly opened and closed the bathroom door to make it seem like he actually went inside. Then he quietly tiptoed down the hall before racing downstairs.

He passed his sister, Gaz, who was getting a snack from the kitchen. "What are you doing?" she asked as he walked fast past her.

Dib froze. "Um...I was just...on my way to the bathroom."

"But the bathroom is that way," Gaz said, pointing the opposite direction.

"Oh...right," Dib answered awkwardly before dashing out of the room. He was a terrible liar when it came to his sister. It seemed like Gaz could sniff out a lie from anyone, especially him.

Dib kept speed walking until he reached the big double doors that lead to his father's lab. He was planning to hide inside the small supply closet where his Dad kept his spare lab coats, boots, and gloves.

Sliding the door open, he squeezed all the way in the back and used one of his father's big lab coats to hide underneath like if it was a big blanket. Then he slid the door closed, engulfing himself in darkness.

Dib stayed quiet for lots of minutes, straining his ears for any sudden sound on the other side of the door. He was super determined that Zim, not even Gaz, would be able to find him here. He was safe hiding in his Dad's supply closet.

At least, that's what he thought.

**Meanwhile in Dib's room**

Zim waited impatiently while sitting cross legged on the bed. Already eleven minutes had gone by. He was wondering what was taking Dib so long to come out of the bathroom.

"What's taking the human so long?" Zim asked out loud. "The boy only weighs seventy pounds. How much urine can he hold?"

Finally, Zim couldn't wait any longer. "Gir, go check and see if he's okay."

"Okey dokey!" Gir answered cheerfully, and hopped off the bed. He walked to the bathroom across the hall and knocked on the door. "Are you okay in there, Mary? Zimmy wants to know when you'll come out."

"Stop. Calling me that!" Zim called out in a frustrated tone.

"When Gir got no answer, he knocked again before opening the door. He was surprised to find it unlocked, but he was even more surprised when he saw that Dib wasn't there.

Gir just shrugged and walked back to the bedroom, where he plopped down on the bed without saying a word.

"Well?" Zim asked.

"Oh he's not in there," Gir answered.

"What?! Then where is he?" Gir shrugged. "But...But he said he needed to use the bathroom! How could he just disappear like—" Sudden realization struck Zim's mind. "That lying, little beast!" he hissed angrily. Zim hopped down from the bed. "C'mon, Gir.

"Where are we going?" Gir innocently asked as he climbed down.

"To find Dib so I can pop his head like a zit!" Zim said as he stormed out of the bedroom. Gir quickly followed behind him.

Zim first checked all the rooms in the entire hallway, but there was no sign of Dib. Then he went downstairs, while quickly putting on his disguise, and checked the entire first floor.

"Ew! What are you doing in my house?" Gaz demanded when she saw Zim walk into the living room.

"I'm looking for your disgusting liar of a human brother," Zim answered as he bent down to look under the couch. "I was conducting an experiment with him until he claimed that he needed to use the bathroom. But after he excused himself, he hasn't come back for the last fifteen minutes and I don't know where he is now. Do you by any chance know where he could have gone?"

Gaz put down her Game Slave. "Well...the last time I saw him was a few minutes ago. He said he was going to the bathroom, but he was walking the other way." She pointed down the opposite hallway. "So I guess he might be hiding out down there, but why do you care where Dib is?"

"Because," Zim said. "I still need to finish my experiment with him. And no one ever quits on Zim! I quit on them!" Gaz just rolled her eyes and went back to her game.

Zim checked every other room as he was walking down the long hallway. When he finally reached the double doors that lead to Professor Membrane's laboratory, Zim halted in his tracks. He thought he reached a dead end.

"Oooh, are we gonna go in there?" Gir asked excitedly.

"It's the last place we'll check," said Zim, pushing the doors open. "If we can't find him in here, then I'll have no choice but to bring out my x-ray vision goggles."

Inside the supply closet, Dib was snuggled against his father's lab coat on the floor. He nearly fell asleep hiding in the closet, but then suddenly perked up and had to hold back a sharp gasp when he heard the lab doors open.

_"How could he have found me so fast?!" _he thought in frantic panic.

Dib quickly buried himself under the lab coat, and clamped a hand over his mouth to quiet his loud breathing. He could hear Zim and Gir's footsteps as they walked around the lab, trying to locate him.

The several minutes that Zim and Gir spent trying to find Dib felt like hours to the boy. He hoped they would just leave.

Finally, he heard Zim say, "Did you find him, Gir?"

"Nope."

"Then we'll check upstairs again. Maybe he's under his bed or something."

Dib heard footsteps, and Gir's squeaky footsteps, walk to the exit before hearing the doors slam shut. Once it was quiet, Dib let out a huge sigh of relief. But that moment of relief didn't last when Zim unexpectedly yanked the supply closet door open.

"A-ha!" Zim shouted with an accusing finger.

Dib screamed and hid under his Dad's lab coat. Then he nervously peeked out from underneath, and gave a fake smile. "Well this isn't the bathroom," he said innocently. "Did I get lost in my own house again?"

"Cut the charades," Zim growled. "I should have known. I should have expected you trying to run away from my experiment!"

"L-Listen, Zim," Dib said nervously, holding up his hands in defense. "I can explain. Obviously there was just some kind of—"

Instead of answering, Dib just made a run for it. He took off racing back to his room, not looking back as Zim was chasing him from behind.

He almost made it to his room when he was suddenly caught. Zim extended two metal arms from his pak, and held Dib upside down by his ankles.

Dib shrieked as he was turned upside down. "Put me down, Zim! I don't wanna be part of your experiment anymore!"

"But I'm not done yet," Zim complained. "And I still haven't found your worst spot yet."

"No!" Dib whined as he twisted uncomfortably to break free. "This is your first time ever doing something like this, and you might make me pass out again! And I don't want to pass out again!"

"I said _relax_," said Zim. "I already promised I would go easy on you so there's no need to worry, okay? I told you, invaders learn from their mistakes. So I know not to push your limits since your inferior human body is clearly too weak for that."

"So..does this mean that you'll let me go now?" Dib asked hopefully.

"Of course not!" Zim exclaimed. He brought the young human closer to his face. "Don't think for a moment that I'm going to forget the fact that you lied about actually having to use the bathroom. And then you just ditched and attempted to hide! Did you really think you could hide from Zim?" He gave Dib a little shake.

"Just let me go, Zim!" Dib whined again as he began twisting and squirming in midair. "I hate this so much! And I hate you, too!"

Through all his squirming while still upside down, Dib didn't realize that his constant movement was making his blue pajama shirt slowly slip down.

Zim didn't seem to notice at first, and continued to rant on. "Well I hate the fact that you tried to quit out on me! No one ever quits on Zim! No one! Only _I _can quit on _you!_ You hear me, filthy Earth larva?! You're not getting away this time! And now, I will make you suffer and rue your sad little attempt to—"

Zim suddenly stopped in the middle of his rant when he finally noticed that Dib's pajama shirt slipped down to his chest. But that wasn't what really caught his attention. The little alien tilted his head in confusion when he noticed there was a strange little hole in the human's lower stomach.

"What?" Dib asked, not knowing why Zim stopped talking. When he saw that Zim kept staring at his stomach, he gasped as he realized what exactly Zim was looking at and quickly pulled his shirt down.

"What was that?" Zim demanded.

"Um, n-nothing," Dib answered nervously.

Zim narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the human boy. He knew he was lying so he laid Dib back on his bed, and restrained his little wrists again over his head.

Dib whimpered a little as Zim sat on his legs again, and pushed his shirt back up so his entire belly was exposed.

"Whatcha lookin at?" Gir curiously asked as he sat next to his Irken master.

"This," Zim said, pointing to the little human's belly button. "What is this weird hole in your stomach?" he asked Dib, gently poking around the area. "Did someone shoot you with a plasma laser beam? Or is this a result of a genetic mutation?"

The little trapped human squeaked and giggled with each poke. He couldn't even answer Zim since he was too busy twitching and giggling.

"Wait, is this like...cleft stomach?" Zim asked, still poking around the area. "I heard about humans being born with something called cleft lip. Is this what happened here?"

Dib still couldn't answer, and kept trying to turn on his side. "Stop i-hi-hi-hit, Zim! I-It's nothing!"

"You filthy liar!" said Zim. "I know what I saw, and I want to know what that is!"

"I told you, it's nothing!"

"Do not try to play dumb with me! I demand you tell me what this weird hole thingy is in your belly! Tell me now!"

"A-All humans aha-ha-ha-are born with this, oka-ha-ha-ha-hay?!" was all Dib managed to say.

"Do all humans have this weird hole thingy in their stomachs?" Zim asked, pulling his hand away for a moment. Dib nodded while giggling a little. "And what is the purpose of this...stomach hole? What does it do for you filthy Earth worms?"

Dib had to hold back a laugh at that comment. "It doesn't really do anything. We're just born with it and that's all. But to tell you the truth, that's actually a scar.

"A scar from what? A fight? A surgical mishap?"

"No, nothing like that. It's...it's kinda hard to explain, but that's not important. Can you please let me go now? Please? I don't wanna be part of your experiment anymore."

"Oh, relax, you big baby," Zim said. "This last part will go by quickly if you are willing to cooperate."

"No! I don't want to!"

Before Zim did anything, Gir began tugging at his shirt to get his attention. "What is it, Gir? I'm in the middle of something."

"After you're done, can I have a turn to tickle Mary? I wanna tickle the wittle baby, too!" Gir said, bouncing in excitement.

"I'm not a baby!" Dib whined while blushing a little.

"Oh of course you are," Zim said in a teasing voice. According to his research, Zim read that teasing words and a teasing tone really got someone to laugh adorably, especially with little humans. So far, it seemed to be working. And while talking, Zim also began lightly spidering his claws on Dib's upper belly.

Instantly, Dib began squirming and squeaking child-like giggles. "Z-Zim! Hee-hee-hee-hee! Sto-ho-ho-ho-hop!"

"Awww he sounds so cute!" Gir cooed.

"I know, right?" Zim agreed. He switched to slowly raking his fingers up and down the little human's soft belly. "I suppose I was wrong about the little humans. These human babies are just so cute when they're all giggly and squeaky!"

"I-I'm no-ho-ho-hot a baby! Hee-hee-hee-hee!" Dib whined through giggles again. He let out an adorable squeal, and squirmed more violently with even squeakier giggles as Zim moved to gently tickle his lower belly. "Aahhh! Zi-hi-hi-hi-him!"

"Yeeees?" Zim asked teasingly.

"Stop i-hi-hi-hi-hit! Plea-hee-hee-hee-hease! Don't! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! S-Stop!"

"Aww did you hear that, Gir?" Zim asked. "The little human baby wants me to continue! How cute!"

"Awwww! You so cute, Mary!" Gir said, playfully ruffling Dib's hair.

"S-Stop ca-ha-ha-halling me that!" Dib squeaked out. He couldn't stop blushing through his giggles. "I'm not cute! Hee-hee-hee-hee! A-And I'm no-ho-ho-hot a baby!"

"Of course you are, little human!" Zim teased again. "Allow me to prove it to you right now!"

Dib shrieked adorably and began screeching laughter when he felt a single finger trace around his belly button. "AAAHHH! STOP ZIM! NO-HO-HO-HO!"

"Very interesting," Zim said over the boy's loud laughter. "This strange little hole thing seems to be very sensitive. Is this by any chance...your worst, ticklish spot?"

Dib frantically shook his head. "N-NO! HA-HA-HA-HA! NO IT'S NO-HO-HO-HOT!"

"Then why are you laughing all crazy-like? I'm not even doing much to you!"

"SHUT U-HU-HU-HU-HUP, ZIM!"

Zim playfully growled. "Now you're just asking for it, little worm baby! But first, I have a question."

"W-What?" Dib asked, slightly out of breath when Zim stopped for a moment.

"Is this...hole thingy in your stomach happen to be a superficial or deep scar?"

"A _what?"_

"Never mind. I'll just find out myself."

Dib had no idea what Zim meant by that, but he instantly figured it out when he felt Zim's finger slip inside his belly button. Instantly, he screeched with a loud squeak and began kicking his trapped legs like crazy. He almost knocked Zim over with his wild movement. But at least his movement made Zim take his finger out.

"Please don't...don't touch me there!" Dib nervously squeaked out.

"Why?" Zim suddenly gasped. "Is it because this is your worst spot?"

Dib swallowed hard. "Um...n-no it's not. It's not, Zim!"

Zim suddenly changed the subject. "Well that's strange...I don't remember ever coming across something like this in my research the other day. Or maybe I did, but I either forgot or didn't care too much to read on. Probably the latter."

"Will you please stop your stupid experiment now?" Dib asked. He wanted to save himself before things got worse. "I don't wanna be a part of this anymore."

Zim detected something suspicious about the boy's tone. "You want me to end my amazing experiment that I didn't even get to finish?" Dib nodded. "Very well then. If that's what you want."

Dib was shocked that Zim was actually going to stop for him. He let out a huge sigh of relief. But that moment of relief instantly turned into panic when he heard Zim say, "I'll just have to begin my next experiment then!"

The human's eyes widened. "W-What?! Next experiment?! But...I-I thought you were done!"

"Of course not, silly human," said Zim. "But I have a feeling you're going to love this next experiment." He flashed Dib a playful smirk who just squirmed nervously.

"Ooooh what's the next experiment?" Gir asked excitedly.

"Oh it's simple," Zim explained. "Allow me to show you. First, I'm going to dissect the little human by slooowly making an incision all the way down here." While saying that last sentence, Zim placed the tip of his claw against Dib's chest before slowly drawing an imaginary line down to his belly button. He grinned when he heard Dib squeal and giggle like a little child while squirming from side to side.

"Hey, can you do me a favor and not laugh or make any sounds while I'm dissecting you?" Zim asked. "It's very distracting."

Dib giggled even harder at that comment. He couldn't believe how playful Zim was acting towards him right now. And for some reason, Zim's sudden act of playfulness was making him want Zim to continue! Right now, the tickles weren't torturous or bad. They were just gentle and playful just like Zim promised.

He heard Zim continue talking. "I'll even decapitate his big head, too! But in order to do that, I'll have to either start on the right side," Zim briefly tickled the right side of Dib's neck, making him giggle sweetly. "or the left side." He did the same thing to the other side of the boy's neck. "Or I can even slice him by the throat!"

Dib squeaked and giggled even harder when Zim tickled under his chin. "Z-Zim! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! No! Plea-hee-hee-hease!"

Zim pulled his hand away. "You know what? You're right. I should just go back to dissecting you!" Zim began using the tip of one claw to draw random patterns all over Dib's tummy, which made him giggle adorably like a child.

"Stop i-hi-hi-hit, Zi-hi-hi-hi-him! Ha-ha-ha-ha! D-Don't dissect me-hee-hee-hee-hee!" Even though he knew Zim was kidding at that, Dib decided to play along.

"Then if you don't want me to dissect you, then you've narrowed my choices down to just one," said Zim, flashing another playful smirk. "I'll just have to eat you alive instead!"

From experience, Dib knew exactly what that meant. He began squirming frantically. "Wait no! C'mon, Zim. Why are you doing this?"

"A couple reasons," Zim explained. "First, you refused to cooperate with me after I promised to be more careful and gentle with you. Then, you started giving me attitude, sass, and even called me names! Besides," Zim suddenly leaned his head down to Dib's stomach, making him squirm nervously. "I've put up with you long enough. It's time I get my revenge for all the times you've foiled my evil plans!"

"No Zim! No, no, no, no!" Dib squeaked loudly when he felt Zim gently press his face against his tummy.

"It's too late to try and beg or apologize now, human," Zim spoke into the boy's belly. "I told you you'd rue the day you mess with—"

Zim suddenly stopped talking because at that moment, he realized just how nice and soft Dib's tummy felt. The skin of his belly felt soft and warm, much to Zim's liking. And also, Zim detected a new scent on the skin; a scent that smelled very nice and sweet to him.

"Oooh, I never knew human skin felt this soft and nice," Zim said as he rubbed his cheek and face all over Dib's belly.

Even that small action alone was enough to make Dib giggle uncontrollably. "Z-Zim! Hee-hee-hee-hee! What are you doi-hi-hi-hing?! You're so we-hee-hee-hee-heird!"

Zim lifted his head up. "Again with the name-calling? That's it, human! Prepare to have your inferior organs be eaten by Zim!"

Dib squeaked adorably and started screeching squeaky giggles when he felt Zim start making chomping motions with his lips, pretending to eat his tummy. "AAAAHHH! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! ZIM NO-HO-HO-HO-HO!"

Zim grinned against the little human's belly at the sound of his super squeaky giggles. And to make things worse, Zim also began making chomping noises and playfully growled against the warm surface. His research also said that exaggerated playful noises somehow made the tickling sensation worse for someone.

And that worked like a charm since Dib's laughter grew louder and higher at that. "ZIM STAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! S-STOP MAKING THA-HA-HA-HAT SA-HA-HA-HA-SOUND! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! THAT MAKES I-HI-HI-HI-HIT EVEN WORSE!"

"Oh does it? What about when I do...this?!"

Dib shrieked and laughed even harder when Zim moved higher to nip at his ribs. He kept tugging at his wrists reflexively and squirming like crazy at the tickling surges that spread all the way up to his arms. "AAAAHHH! STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP ZIM! STOP DOI-HI-HI-HING THA-HA-HA-HA-HAT!"

Zim finally decided to give the human a break since his cheeks were all red from laughing so much. He waited patiently for a few minutes until he heard Dib breathing normally. Then he surprised Dib by lowering his trapped wrists, gently pressing his head to the side, and suddenly nipped at the ticklish skin of the boy's neck.

Dib squealed adorably and exploded in a fit of loud, squeaky giggles. "EEEEEEEHEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! STOP I-HI-HI-HI-HIT, ZIM! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! T-THAT TICKLES SO-HO-HO-HO MUCH!"

"A-ha! So now you finally admit the truth!" Zim spoke into his neck. He felt Dib shake his head.

"N-NO I DIDN'T! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! THAT DOESN'T—HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE—I'M NO-HO-HO-HOT TICKLISH!"

Zim shrugged. "Then I guess I won't stop until you admit it." He moved back to Dib's tummy where he began nipping at the super sensitive skin around his belly button.

Dib jolted and shrieked loudly like a girl. "AAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! NO PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE! HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAA! O-OKAY! OKA-HA-HA-HA-HAY! I ADMIT IT! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! I-I _AM _TICKLISH! HA-HA-HA-HA! NOW PLEASE STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP!"

"Hmm...no, I don't think so."

"W-What?!" Dib said, panting when Zim paused for a moment.

"As much as I appreciate you finally admitting the truth that you're ticklish, I still haven't heard you forgiving me for accidentally making you pass out before."

"No way!" Dib said, tugging at his wrists that were pinned above his head again. "I'll never forgive you! And you can't make me!"

Zim smirked at the young boy. "I knew you'd be stubborn, but I know just how to break you. Gir, take notes on his reaction for later research."

Gir nodded and kept scribbling on the little notepad he was holding. But in reality, he wasn't even taking notes. Gir was actually doodling a picture of Zim tickling Dib since that's what he saw in front of him.

"Last chance to save yourself before I send you to your doom," Zim warned as he sat on top of Dib's legs again.

"I'm never forgiving you, you ugly space monster!"

"Then so be it!"

Dib squealed and giggled like crazy when he felt the tip of Zim's claw slowly trace around his belly button. "EEEEEEEHEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! NO PLEASE! NOT AGAI-HA-HA-HA-HAIN!"

"You want me to stop?" Zim asked over the boy's loud giggles.

"YES! PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE!"

"Well too bad!" Zim cackled manically. "Not until you forgive me for what I did. Until then, you'll be trapped here as my human prisoner!" He suddenly switched to tracing circles around Dib's belly, slowly inching closer until he was tracing his belly button again before dipping his finger inside.

The second Zim slowly wiggled his finger, Dib screeched so loudly and laughed his hardest. "AAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! NO ZIM! NO-HO-HO-HO-HO! STAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! DON'T DO THA-HA-HA-HA-HAT!"

"Are you going to forgive me?"

"NO WA-HA-HA-HA-HAY!"

"Have it your way then!" Zim wiggled his finger faster, making Dib shriek louder and squirm like crazy.

"AAAAAHHH! STAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! STOP I-HI-HI-HIT, PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE!"

Zim was amazed at how Dib was losing it over something so small and simple. But the boy's reactions convinced Zim that his weird stomach hole was in fact his most ticklish spot.

Only seven seconds went by, and Dib was ready to lose it. Little tears started forming in the corners of his tightly shut eyes, and his sides were starting to cramp up.

"OKAY! OKA-HA-HA-HA-HAY! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! I-I'M SORRY-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! I-I FORGIVE YOU-HOO-HOO-HOO!"

"Is that a sincere apology?" Zim asked with a smirk as he now used his free hand to tickle under Dib's left arm while still wiggling his other finger fast. "Do you really mean that?"

Dib shrieked like a little girl again when he felt Zim's evil claws wiggle under his left arm. The wiggling claws under his arm plus the rapidly moving finger in his belly button was an unbearable combination. He nodded frantically. "YES! YE-HE-HE-HE-HES! I SWEAR! HA-HA-HA-HA! PLEASE JUST STA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! I-I CAN'T TA-HA-HA-HA-HAKE IT ANYMORE!"

Zim chuckled and stopped his tickle torture. "Finally, you show mercy to your future human overlord. You're feeling okay, right?"

Dib tiredly nodded while panting heavily. It took several long minutes for him to get his breath back. His cheeks still felt warm when he tried to wipe his tears of laughter on his shoulder. "Zim? Can you let me go now? My eyes are all watery, and—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Zim interrupted. "What is this? What is this pathetic emotional show you present me with?"

Dib was confused. "What do you mean?"

"This" Zim pointed to the boy's tear-stained cheeks. "Are you crying? You have the audacity to cry in front of the mighty Zim?!"

Dib realized what Zim was talking about, and it made him giggle. "No, no, no. I'm not literally crying. It's just—"

"How am I supposed to insult you if your crying in front of me?" Zim interrupted again. "You're just trying to make me feel bad, aren't you? Sneaky human!"

Dib giggled even harder. His sudden giggles were making his eyes water again, and a single tear of mirth streamed down his right cheek.

Zim suddenly softened his tone. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Don't cry again, little human."

Dib couldn't stop giggling sweetly. "S-Stop talking to me-hee-hee-hee like tha-ha-ha-ha-hat!" Another tear streamed from his left eye.

"There, there, it's okay," Zim said gently, patting the boy's head. "There's no need to cry anymore. All right?"

Dib nodded, and tried to wipe his cheeks on his shoulder since his arms were still above his head. But when he tried to blink away more tears, they ended up streaming down both cheeks.

"Hey!" Zim exclaimed. "I said no more crying! Why are you still crying?"

Dib giggled uncontrollably again. He couldn't believe how silly and playful Zim was acting.

"No more crying!" Zim said when he saw the little human's tear-stained cheeks. He laid Dib in his lap with his wrists still secured above his head.

"You better stop crying, you hear me?" Zim said in mock anger while poking the boy's belly. He made Dib giggle even more squeakier when he went back to tracing his belly button. "Stop crying! There's no need to be sad anymore!"

Dib couldn't stop his giggling or the more happy tears that kept streaming from his eyes. He then screeched and laughed harder when he felt Zim's finger dip inside his belly button and start to wiggle. That action also made more tears quickly stream down his cheeks.

"Stop. Crying!" Zim playfully scolded as he kept wiggling his finger. "If there's one thing I hate, it's sad little crying humans!"

Dib didn't answer. He just kept screeching laughter like a little child while trying to blink away his tears. "AHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! C'MON ZIM! STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! T-THAT REALLY TICKLES!"

"That's it," Zim said as he suddenly stopped and took Dib off his lap. "It looks like you're not going to stop crying anytime soon so I'm going to have to try something else."

"W-What are you gonna do now?" Dib asked as he was pinned to his bed again.

Zim gave him a sad smile. "You're obviously sad and upset since you keep crying. So now, you've left me no choice but to stop your crying myself." He pushed the boy's pajama shirt higher up to his chest, and slowly leaned his head down to Dib's stomach.

The moment Dib saw Zim lean down to his belly, he panicked and squirmed nervously. He even tried to kick Zim off, but his legs were quickly pinned so he couldn't move anymore. "Z-Zim! What are you doing?"

The little alien smirked playfully again. "Since you won't stop crying, I'll have to _make you _stop crying and being sad! And according to my research, this particular action drives little humans insane and instantly cheers them up."

"B-But I'm not sad!"

"Are you kidding? Gir, look at him. Doesn't he look so sad?" Zim gestured to the young boy.

Gir nodded in agreement. "Awww the poor little baby is still sad-crying. I think you need to cheer him up!"

"My thoughts exactly," Zim said as he leaned his head down towards Dib's stomach again.

Dib squirmed nervously on his bed. He panicked so much when he heard Zim take a deep breath. He knew what was coming. His worst nightmare actually came true; Zim found his most ticklish spot, and discovered the number one method that drove him crazy with laughter.

Zim ended up having to hold his sides to keep him still since he was moving too much. The second Zim pressed his lips and blew against the human's upper belly, Dib nearly made him go deaf with the loud scream he emitted. Right after the shrill scream, Dib exploded with loud hysterical laughter."

"AAAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA! Z-ZIM STAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! I-I CAN'T STA-HA-HA-HAND THAT!"

Zim grinned with satisfaction. He couldn't believe that such a thing could drive this little human crazy with laughter. Through the boy's loud laughter, Zim was able to hear Gir's giggling.

"Do it again! Do it again!" Gir said while giggling.

"Do what again?" Zim asked as he lifted his head up.

"That funny sound on his tummy!" said Gir. "Do it again! It sounds funny!"

"Wait, no!" Dib cried out. "Please, Zim! I-I can't stand that! It just tickles too much!"

Zim pretended like he was thinking it over. "I should stop. Buuut...I won't Look at yourself. You're still crying. And I won't stop until your finally happy again, and I see no more sad tears." He gently pressed his lips against Dib's tummy before blowing another loud raspberry against the soft surface.

The poor trapped boy shrieked like a little girl again before screaming hysterical laughter. "AAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA! ZIM STAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! S-STOP DOI-HI-HI-HING THA-HA-HA-HA-HAT!"

Rivers of happy tears streamed down Dib's bright red cheeks as he squirmed and laughed uncontrollably.

"If you want me to stop, you'll have to stop crying and being sad," Zim spoke into his tummy. "If not, I can do this all night long."

"AHAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA! I-I—HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE—I CA-HA-HA-HA-HAN'T! ZIM, PLEASE JUST—AAAAAAAHHHH!" Dib screamed and laughed his hardest again when another raspberry was blown just above his belly button. "AAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! ZI-HI-HI-HI-HIM! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! STOP IT-HI-HI-HI-HIT!"

Dib's screams and crazy loud laughter could be heard from outside his closed bedroom door. Even his little sister could hear him laughing as she was coming up the stairs. "Be quiet, Dib!" Gaz called out as she passed by his bedroom to go to her room.

"GAZ! GA-HA-HA-HAZ! HELP ME-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!" Dib desperately cried out. This time, Zim was making him nearly die of laughter by the endless raspberries that were being planted directly on his belly button. "H-HURRY! ZIM'S TO—AAAAAAHHHH! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA! HE'S TORTURING ME-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

Gaz paid no attention to her brother who was being tickle tortured by Zim. She just went to her room to get another pair of batteries for her Game Slave, and then left not without yelling at him to shut up already.

"Face it, little human. No one is going to save you now!" Zim taunted with an evil laugh. "By the way, I still see you crying which indicates that you're still sad."

Dib frantically shook his head. "I'M NOT CRYI-HI-HI-HI-HING! A-AND I'M NOT SA-HA-HA-HAD!"

Zim obviously knew that Dib was shedding tears of laughter. He just wanted to use that as an excuse to tickle the little boy more. "Are you suggesting that I'm _lying_?" Dib shook his head again. "Then stop crying! How many times do I have to say it?"

"B-BUT I'M NO-HO-HO-HOT SAD!"

"Listen...just stop your crying. It's that simple. That's all I'm asking. I'll stop my whole experiment if you just stop crying, okay?"

"I HATE YOU, ZI-HI-HI-HI-HIM!"

Both Zim and Gir gasped dramatically. Zim stopped his tickling fun for a moment, and then asked in the coldest cruel tone ever, "_What _did you say to me, Dib-filth?"

Panting, Dib nervously replied, "Um, n-nothing."

"Oh I definitely heard you say something."

"He said he hates you!" Gir tattletaled.

"No I didn't!"

"Silence!" Zim shushed the human. He leaned close to Dib's face, making him squirm nervously. "If there's one thing I truly hate with all my being, it's little lying humans who are rude to me."

"I wasn't lying!" Dib cried out.

"Another lie right there!" said Zim, pointing a finger at him. "Oh that's it! Now your going to get it!"

Dib completely lost it and screamed with hysterical laughter when Zim pressed his mouth over his belly button, and blew repeatedly while shaking his head. "_PFFFFFFFF! PFFFFFFFFF!"_

"AAAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAA! STAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! STOP ZIM! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! PLEASE! AAAAAAHHHH! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"

The raspberries were bad enough. But combined with Zim shaking his head, it just made the tickling sensation worse for Dib. His whole tummy was tingling like crazy, and ticklish shivers ran through his whole body. Dib was laughing so hard and carefree, that his laughter actually went silent for a few seconds.

When Zim couldn't hear him laughing anymore, he panicked and quickly stopped. He thought he accidentally made Dib pass out again, which he swore he wouldn't do again. But then he sighed in relief when he could hear Dib breathing heavily, and saw him slightly open his tear flooded eyes.

"Oh that's a relief," said Zim. "For a moment there, I thought I made you go unconscious again since you stopped making any noises. But you're okay, right?" Dib nodded tiredly. "That's good. Now...for my finishing move."

Holding Dib's sides, Zim took a deep breath again before diving down to the boy's tummy and blowing the longest, hardest raspberry he could against his belly button. "_PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!"_

Dib lost it a second time, screamed like a little girl, and shrieked hysterics once more. "AAAAAAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! ZIM PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAA! N-NO MO-HO-HO-HO-HORE! PLEASE!"

Zim could hear the tiredness in Dib's laughter so right there, he decided to stop so he wouldn't push Dib past his limits.

And even after Zim released his limbs, Dib was too tired to pull his shirt down or even move. But after a few long minutes, he finally tugged his shirt down and tiredly raised his arms up to wipe the tears from his eyes.

Dib's cheeks were still slightly warm when he was finally able to get his breath back. Once Zim and Gir saw that he finally calmed down, Gir asked Zim, "Now can I tickle him? Now? Pleeeease?"

Zim smiled at his little SIR unit. "Of course you can, Gir. Would you like me to hold him down for you?"

"Ooooh yeah!"

Dib's eyes widened again. "No! Not again!" He attempted to jump off his bed and make a run for it, but Zim grabbed him with his metal arms again.

"Oh no you don't!" said Zim. "Gir hasn't had his turn yet, and I promised I would let him tickle you once I was done.

"Oh c'mon!" Dib whined as his wrists were pinned above his head once again. He squirmed and squeaked nervously when Gir sat on top of his waist.

Gir almost fell off when Dib began twisting from side to side to shake him off. The little robot yelped when he was eventually knocked off and fell onto the bed.

Hold on," said Zim. Still holding down Dib's wrists, Zim went ahead and sat on the boy's legs to keep him still. "You better not try to push Gir off," Zim warned him. "or else, I'll make this even worse for you."

To emphasize his point, Zim slowly began to take Dib's right sock off. Dib gasped and squeaked a loud "No!" while trying to tug his foot away.

"Then behave!"

Gir just giggled at what his alien master was doing to make Dib sit still just for him. Then he pushed the boy's shirt back up to his chest, and lowered his paw hands down to Dib's tummy.

Instantly, Dib squeaked and giggled in anticipation when he saw Gir's fingers hover above his stomach. Once Gir finally wiggled his fingers all over his tummy, Dib burst with squeaky loud giggles. And since Gir was still wearing his dog costume, his little fingers were now soft and tickled more.

"Aaahh! Hee-hee-hee-hee! Gir, no-ho-ho-ho! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee!"

"Awwww! The wittle baby sounds so cute!" Gir cooed.

That comment made Dib blush and giggle harder. "D-Don't say tha-ha-ha-ha-hat! Hee-hee-hee-hee! I-I'm no-ho-ho-hot a baby.

"Of course he is," Zim piped up. "Why don't you prove it to him by tickling him riiiight here." While saying that last sentence, Zim took Gir's little finger and placed it on Dib's belly button.

"Wait, no! No, no, no, no, no!"

Dib screeched with happy laughter when he felt Gir's little finger start wiggling inside his belly button. "AAAAAHHH! NO STA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! N-NOT AGAI-HA-HA-HA-HAIN!"

"Awww lookie!" Gir said over Dib's crazy laughter. "I found his little happy button!"

"His what?" Zim asked with a chuckle.

"His happy button!" Gir repeated. "See?" He wiggled his finger faster, making Dib squeal loudly and laugh even harder. "Every time you tickle him here, he screams like a girl and makes funny, silly happy sounds!"

For some reason, hearing Gir say that made the tickling sensation worse for Dib. "GIR! GIR STOP SAYING THA-HA-HA-HA-HAT! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

Tears of mirth quickly sprung to the young human's eyes as he reflexively flared his arms and legs. "GI-HI-HI-HI-HIR! C'MON STA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!" Just when he thoughts things couldn't get worse, it totally did.

Dib was hoping and praying that Gir wouldn't trigger the embarrassing involuntary response when his worst spot was being tickled. But, just as if the little robot read his mind, Gir ended up making Dib start snorting through his laughter by wiggling his finger rapidly against the very bottom of his belly button.

Once they heard that silly sound, Zim and Gir couldn't help but laugh at that sound that they never heard before. And once Dib realized that they heard his snorting, he blushed in embarrassment and tried to hide his red face in his shoulder.

"Aww don't hide," Gir said, trying to comfort him.

"I never knew you humans could make such strange and funny sounds," Zim said with a laugh.

"It's not funny!" Dib whined with his eyes closed. He didn't even want to look at Zim's face and see his teasing smile.

"Is he still crying?" he heard Zim ask.

Gir noticed the tiny tears in the corners of Dib's tightly shut eyes and his tear stained cheeks. "Uh-huh," he said, nodding. "The poor little baby is still sad."

"I'm not crying!" Dib said as he quickly wiped his cheeks on his shoulder. "See? I'm fine. And I'm not sad, either! And stop calling me a baby!"

"But you're such a cute wittle baby!" Gir cooed, playfully ruffling his hair. "See?"

Dib let out adorable squeaks and giggles as Gir lightly poked and tickled all over his tummy. "Aaahh! Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee! No plea-hee-hee-hee-hease! I told you I'm no-ho-ho-hot a baby! Hee-hee-hee-hee!"

"Denial not just a river in Utah," Zim said with a grin.

"Uta-ha-ha-hah?! It's in—hee-hee-hee—Egypt! Get your facts ri-hi-hi-hi-hight!"

"Did you hear that?" Zim said with mock anger. "He's being mean to be again!" He lowered his antennas and pretended to be sad. "And that hurts my feelings."

"Dib, that wasn't very nice," Gir scolded the boy like a parent. "Now you're in trouble!"

Dib yelped when his blanket was suddenly draped over his face. "Ah! What do you mean I'm in trouble? I didn't even do anything—AAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! NO STOP! STAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP!"

The little trapped human burst out laughing his hardest once more when Gir dipped his finger in his belly button again and wiggled his finger rapidly. But what made it even worse was when Zim decided to join in by taking off Dib's right sock completely, and slowly dragging his claws up and down his now bare foot.

Dib jolted with a loud squeal and tried to pull his foot away. The little Irken's claws felt even worse against his skin! "S-STO-HO-HO-HO-HOP, ZIM! BOTH OF YOU-HOO-HOO-HOO! C'MON PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE!"

"Aww listen to that, Gir," Zim said as he grinned at Dib, who now began to snort between his laughs. "The little human baby said 'please'. That means he wants us to continue."

"WHAT?! NO-HO-HO-HO! I NEVER SA-HA-HA-HA-HAID THAT!" Dib protested through his laughs. Zim and Gir just ignored him.

"Ooooh! Do that funny sound on his tummy again!" Gir cheerfully suggested. "And since he wants more tickles, make sure to get the baby's happy button, too!"

"GIR STO-HO-HO-HOP SUGGESTING THI-HI-HI-HI-HINGS!"

Zim smirked at the boy's reactions. "That's a great idea, Gir." He adjusted his metal arms to grab Dib's ankles and dangle him upside down against the edge of the bed, with his legs still pinned on the mattress.

Right away, Dib quickly tugged his shirt down now that his hands were free. But that wouldn't protect him for long. Zim instantly ordered Gir to restrain the boy's arms over his head so he couldn't protect himself anymore. Dib eyes widened at that, and he stubbornly refused to lower his arms no matter what.

"Master, he won't let go!" Gir complained and he tried to tug Dib's wrists away. Dib just wrapped his arms tighter against him, hugging himself and refusing to let go!"

Zim sighed, shaking his head. "Just as I thought...We need backup. But not to worry, Gir. I'll take care of this." Dib squeaked in fear when Zim extended two more metal arms, and managed to tug his arms over his head. "Man, do I gotta do _everything _around here? Ooh-hoo-hoo! Watch this, Gir! You're going to love this! Keep his head up for me so he sees me, okay?"

Gir nodded and positioned Dib so that his back was leaning against Gir's chest. Then he lifted him up a little so Dib could see Zim, just like instructed to. "Now what?"

Zim flashed a playful, evil grin at the nervously squirming boy. "Just watch." He pushed Dib's pajama shirt back up to his chest, and slowly lowered his wiggling claws towards his belly.

When he saw those wiggling claws lowering to his tummy, Dib squirmed and giggled madly in anticipation. He could practically feel the little tickles even though nothing was touching him yet.

"Ooooh! How do you do that?" Gir asked in awe.

"Stirring up anticipation is the key to driving the human nuts," Zim explained as he pulled his hands away. Then he lowered his wiggling claws towards Dib's tummy again. "And just by seeing my fingers inch closer and closer..." Dib was a squirming mess of giggles at this point. The anticipation was killing him! "It triggers an immediate response to prepare the human's brain and body for what's about to happen."

Zim kept teasing the boy like this several times, just to see his reaction. Every time he pulled his hands away, Dib would calm down and stop giggling. But as soon as he saw those wiggling claws heading towards his belly again, he couldn't stop himself from giggling madly again.

"You see that?" Zim asked over the human's squeaky little giggles. "It looks like I've got the touch and the power. The magic mysterious power to rule over this little Earth baby without even touching him!"

"I-I'm no-ho-ho-hot a baby-hee-hee-hee-hee!" Dib whined through his loud giggles. "Stop saying tha-ha-ha-ha-hat!"

"Aw don't believe him, master," said Gir. "Of course Mary's a little baby! He's the cutest wittle baby ever!"

"Exactly, Gir. And I think it's about time I punish this rude, lying little baby monster for all the trouble he's put me through tonight!" Zim then attacked with no mercy, wiggling his claws rapidly all over the soft, warm skin of the young human's belly.

Dib instantly exploded with loud giggles and laughter for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. "AAAHHH! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! ZIM NO-HO-HO-HO! PLEASE NOT AGAI-HA-HA-HA-HAIN! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!"

"Oh yes again!" Zim teased. "You've been such a naughty, rude little baby this whole night! And do you know what Irkens like me do to such rude little humans?" Dib shook his head while still giggling up a storm. "We eat you and you're—you're...um...Gir, what did you call this thing again?"

"That's his happy button," Gir answered when he saw Zim point to the boy's belly button.

"That's right!" Zim said with an evil laugh. "We Irkens turn into savage cannibals and eat you and your little happy buttons alive!"

"Wait! No, Zim!"

Dib squealed with crazy squeaky giggles as Zim playfully nipped all over his tummy again. His giggles grew more higher and squeakier when Zim started nipping the super ticklish skin around his belly button. "EEEEEEEHEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! STO-HO-HO-HOP ZI-HI-HI-HI-HIM! AAAHHH! NO-HO-HO-HO! NO PLEA-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEASE!"

For some reason, being tickled upside down increased the tickling sensation for Dib. But he was suddenly reduced to a shrieking mess of hysterics when Zim attacked his way too ticklish belly button with endless raspberries. "_PFFFFFFFFF! PFFFFFFFF! PFFFFFFFFFF!!"_

"AAAAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAA! ZIM STAAAAAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! PLEASE ZIM! HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE! I'M SORRY FOR BEING BA-HA-HA-HA-HAD! HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA! AAAAAAHHHH! C'MON STA-HA-HA-HA-HAP! I-I CA-HA-HA-HA-HAN'T TAKE THI-HI-HI-HIS ANYMORE!"

Zim took one look at Dib's face and finally decided to stop since his face was bright red and stained with tears again. "Oh, all right. I'll stop for reals this time. Gir, let him go now."

"Wait!" said Gir. "I wanna hear him make that funny piggy noise again!"

Zim knew exactly what Gir was talking about. He just wanted to hear Dib's funny snorting sound again. "Fine. But just one last time." He dipped his finger all the way inside Dib's belly button again, and wiggled his finger rapidly.

Dib screeched with hysterics once again before snorting uncontrollably through his laughs. Gir giggled when he heard Dib snorting. "He sounds like a little piggy!"

"He sure does," Zim said with a grin.

Once he stopped, Zim instructed Gir to let go of the boy's sides since he was holding him still just for his master. After he let go, Zim carefully lifted the boy up and placed him on the bed. Dib was so exhausted after being tickled so many times that night.

"Are you all right?" Zim asked with concern as he poked his shoulder.

Dib tiredly nodded while tugging his shirt down. "Yeah...just...just tired." When he slowly sat up, Zim had to hold back a laugh because Dib's hair now looked super messy and stood up in all directions.

"Well you're lucky because your punishment is officially over. I told you I could be more careful and gentle, but you refused to believe me. And now that I made this interesting discovery, I will definitely use this to my advantage in the future." Zim rubbed his hands together maniacally and laughed ominously.

Dib's eyes widened at the thought. He panicked and hugged his knees to his chest. Zim's ominous evil laughter was creeping him out.

Zim kept laughing even as he climbed out of Dib's bedroom window. But as he raised his arms up and declared his amazing victory, he suddenly lost his balance and fell out the window. "I'm okay!" he called out. "This shrub broke my fall!"

Gir, who still hadn't followed Zim out the window, decided to give Dib once last hug. "I'm sorry Zimmy was so mean to you before."

"It's okay," Dib answered, returning the hug. "I'm sure Zim didn't mean to 'cause he didn't know what he was doing in the first place with that crazy mind of his."

"I heard that!" Zim called out. He extended one metal arm inside the window, and reached for Dib.

When Dib saw that metal arm reaching for him, he thought Zim was going to tickle him again so he hid behind Gir. But he was surprised when Zim handed him a glass of cold water to drink.

Dib felt so much better and felt his temperature return to normal after drinking the water. But then he suddenly felt tired all over again.

"Wait, Mary!" Gir said. "Don't you wanna eat your chocolate sorry cake we got you?"

Before Dib could answer, Gir opened the cake box, grabbed the plastic fork that was inside, and shoved a piece of chocolate cake into the boy's mouth.

Dib nearly choked with a mouthful of cake, but managed to chew and swallow it. "Oh wow. This is good."

"You like it?" Gir asked with hopeful wide optics.

"I love it," Dib answered with a smile. "And I love it so much, that I want to save it for breakfast tomorrow! So thanks again for apologizing to me and everything. I guess I was wrong about Zim; I guess he can regret his mistakes and make up for them.

"Come on, Gir!" they heard Zim call out. "Let's go! It's freezing out here!"

"I better go," said Gir. "Bye! I hope we can play again!"

Dib laughed nervously. "I'd really hope not.

"Hurry up, Gir!" Zim said impatiently.

Gir excitedly climbed to the bedroom window. "Here I come!" Then he jumped out the window and landed on top of Zim with a loud _thud!_

"Owwww! My squeedily smooch!" Zim groaned out.

After setting his cake box aside back on his nightstand, Dib decided he would change out of his now sweaty pajama shirt.

Once he changed into a clean pajama shirt and slipped off his socks to cool off some more, Dib yawned and got comfy under the covers. He was so tired after all that laughing that he ended up falling asleep quickly. After all, it was already midnight once Zim's whole crazy experiment was over. But what he didn't know was that Zim was secretly watching him from the bedroom window.

"Yes! He's finally asleep!" he whisper shouted. "Gir, give me the note. Quickly!"

"Gir handed Zim a folded up piece of paper. Zim carefully and quietly snuck inside Dib's bedroom to place the little written note on top of the sleeping human. There was one last suprise that Zim had for Dib.

Except this time, he wasn't going to do it himself. He was going to let the boy's father do it for him. And Zim had a feeling Dib was going to get a super special surprise from his Dad when he woke up and saw what was written on that note.

After discovering what tickling was, Zim wondered why he didn't try this out on Dib earlier. He was definitely going to be using this new discovery against Dib more often.

**THE END**

**I leave the rest up to your imagination...unless y'all wanna know what happens the next morning. Hehe.**


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